“매년 엠파이어스테이트빌딩 잠길 정도 녹아”…아시아 빙하 9만5천개 ‘시한폭탄’

The melting of Himalayan glaciers in Asia, caused by climate change, is a mounting concern, according to recent analysis. Professor Daniel McGraw, a geosciences professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, stated in a recent CNN interview that there are over 95,000 glaciers in the Asian mountain range, and these glaciers are losing mass at an alarming rate.

He emphasized that the annual melting of these glaciers could cause water to tower above the Empire State Building in New York, which stands at 1,250 feet (381 meters) without its spire. This highlights the potential for New York to be submerged in water. Experts warn that this situation has been anticipated, and it could worsen in the future.

Dr. Jason Gill, a glaciology professor at the University of South Florida, writes in a New York Times opinion piece that melting Himalayan glaciers in Nepal are like a ticking time bomb. Over the past two decades, Gill has surveyed the Nepalese glacier region six times and documented numerous instances of glacial failures, such as ice avalanches, large chunks of ice breaking off, and massive landslides.

Gill warns that if carbon emissions continue to rise unchecked, up to 75% of the remaining glaciers in Asia's high mountains could disappear by 2100. As glaciers melt, the water can create large lakes in depressed areas, eventually turning into devastating floods that could threaten downstream communities. Gill points to the 2005 event in Nepal's Khumbu region, where melting glaciers formed a lake that grew to 750 feet (228 meters) deep, and warns that such incidents could lead to even more catastrophic flooding in the future.